Kusunoki Masashige

Kusunoki Masashige (1294-4 July 1336) was a general of Emperor Go-Daigo who assisted Go-Daigo's Rebellion in 1331-1336.

Biography
Masashige's origins are obscure, but in 1331 he assisted Emperor Go-Daigo's rise to power over the Kamakura Shogunate. He fought the Hojo shoguns first, and then the Ashikaga when they tried to take power from the Emperor and establish their own shogunate. Leading an army of pro-Emperor troops, Masashige was brought to battle by Ashikaga Takauji in the Battle of Minatogawa. He was defeated, and he committed seppuku. His loyalty is legendary, and symbolized by his posthumous awarding by the Meiji government in 1880.